“At the end of the day, (my job) is to fairly implement the freedom to work laws. What that means is a lot of education, a lot of information, making sure that both employers, employees, union officials, union reps, all have an accurate understanding of what the law requires, what the law prohibits,” he said.

Calderwood, 34, earned his bachelor’s degree in political economy from Hillsdale College and received his law degree from Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor. He’s worked in commercial litigation and real estate law. In his most recent position at Collins & Blaha P.C. in Farmington Hills, he represented public school districts in employment and labor law, along with state and federal compliance and regulatory issues.

MLive recently sat down with Calderwood to discuss questions about right to work:

What’s a misconception about the new law?
Calderwood: One of the things that’s very important is to remind people that the freedom-to-work laws did not change anything else about collective bargaining. Freedom to work does not allow you to opt out of the union and bring your own union in; it does not allow you to just start representing yourself. The rules and the laws regarding representation and elections and petitions and so forth remain unchanged.

If an employee doesn’t pay union dues or fees, what representation would that employee get from the union?
They would still be a member of the bargaining unit, so they would still be bound to the terms and conditions of that collective bargaining agreement. Just because someone is no longer a member or a service fee payer, does not mean that they were removed from the bargaining unit, it just means that they’re not contributing to the union.

Are there benefits that only paying members get?
There can be, that’s an internal union matter. For example a union could say that if you’re not a member of the union, you can’t vote on the ratification of a contract. Or you can’t vote on internal union elections. Or some unions offer vacation times paid for out of the union, some of them offer picnics. At that point they’re free to do what they want to do.

Check back with MLive.com for more questions and answers from Calderwood. Do you have a question about right to work? Let us know in the comment section below and we’ll do our best to get it answered.